With multiple companies showing returns of more than 100%, you have what has turned into one of the more attractive sectors for investors in 2017. But is this the right move? Are marijuana stocks worth it? Most importantly, is now the time to invest in marijuana stocks?

The 2016 General Social Survey revealed an increase in public support for marijuana legalization, according to a March 29, 2017, article on the Washington Post’s Wonkblog. The survey, which is conducted every two years, showed 57 percent of Americans supported marijuana legalization in 2016, up from 52 percent in 2014.

In the latest speculation about the impact of legal marijuana on beer sales, Cannabiz Consumer Group research shows more than a quarter of beer drinkers have switched or would switch to marijuana, causing a major hit to retail sales of beer. Cannabiz estimates retail sales of beer could drop $2 billion annually, or 7.1 percent of existing sales.

Marijuana grown by the federal government for research purposes does not have the same quality as the pot from other sources. Until recently, the U.S. federal government had to grow all the marijuana that would be used in scientific research, but researchers have found the government’s pot to be, essentially, irrelevant.

The Colorado Senate has approved marijuana clubs, where members can bring their own pot, according to a March 9, 2017, article by the Associated Press. Under the senate bill, the marijuana clubs would only be permitted to serve light snacks. Alcohol would be prohibited. However, Gov. John Hickenlooper has suggested he might veto the bill.

A bill introduced in the Nevada Senate would allow public use of marijuana in certain circumstances, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. As of Jan. 1, 2017, Nevadans can possess marijuana, but they can use it only in private residences. Senate Bill 236 would allow local governments to give businesses and events licenses so patrons can use marijuana publicly.

If law enforcement officers in Harris County, Texas, find someone in possession of less than four ounces of marijuana, the officers will take the marijuana and require the possessor to sign a contract to attend a drug-education class. Kim Ogg, the District Attorney of Harris County, Texas, has decided as of March 1, 2017, she will no longer prosecute most marijuana cases.

During a Feb. 27, 2017, meeting with reporters at the U.S. Justice Department, Attorney General Jeff Sessions gave a new explanation of his views on marijuana and federal law. “Most of you probably know I don’t think America is going to be a better place when more people of all ages and particularly young people start smoking pot,” Sessions said.

A new study from the United Kingdom has revealed academically high-achieving students are two times as likely to smoke marijuana during their teen years. The nine-year study of 6,059 school children was conducted by researchers at University College London. The study was published in the medical journal BMJ Open.

A new cold-brewed coffee drink infused with THC is now available in the San Francisco Bay area. Somatik is a joint effort between the edibles company of the same name and Ritual Roasters. The 8-ounce bottles are available at several Bay-area dispensaries or through the CANNVIS delivery service for $12 each.

A majority of Nevada voters legalized adult-use, retail marijuana on Nov. 8, 2016, but opinions still differ on whether pot is a so-called “gateway drug” to more-addictive substances, according to a Feb. 14, 2017, post at News3LV.com, the website of KSNV in Las Vegas.

George Zimmer, the man once famous for saying “You’re going to like the way you look,” has smoked marijuana for 50 years and once donated $50,000 to legalization efforts in California, according to Business Insider. Zimmer, 68, is scheduled to give a keynote address at the Cannabis Collaborative Conference in Portland, Ore., on Feb. 15, 2017.

In 2016, Californians ordered marijuana on the Eaze platform once every 30 seconds, according to the “Eaze Insights: 2016 State of Cannabis Data Report.” That doubled 2015’s rate of an order once every minute. Eaze, an online platform for marijuana deliveries, drew its report from 250,000 platform users and a supplemental survey of 5,000 state residents.

Apparently, New York City dog owners increasingly are careless with their marijuana goodies and pot stashes, according to an article in the New York Times. “We probably see close to one a day at one of our four hospitals,” said David Wohlstadter of the veterinary chain Blue Pearl. “And we’ve definitely seen an increase in the past couple of years.”

The lawn-and-garden company Scotts Miracle-Gro has spent more than $200 million on all things related to hydroponics in hopes of making money from the growing legal marijuana sector, according to the Columbus Dispatch. Scotts Miracle-Gro plans to hold its next board of directors meeting in Colorado, where marijuana was legalized for adult use in 2014.

Two New Mexico state legislators are touting marijuana legalization as a way to bring more revenue into the state’s coffers. Rep. Bill McCamley, a Democrat from Mesilla Park, NM, has sponsored a bill in the New Mexico House of Representatives that would legalize, tax and regulate marijuana for adults. Sen. Gerald Ortiz y Pino, a Democrat from Albuquerque, has sponsored an identical bill in the Senate.

An Oregon real estate company is considering property at Lake Selmac in Josephine County, Oregon, for its marijuana-friendly RV park, according to the Associated Press. Grow Condos first announced its plans for Smoke on the Water RV parks back in May 2016, but a specific location had not been identified.

A medical marijuana organization in Utah is speaking out after the state’s medical association said pot does not have medicinal value, according to Good4Utah.com, the website of Salt Lake City’s ABC affiliate. The Utah Medical Association held a press conference on Jan. 17, 2017, to say marijuana is not a medicine.

North Americans spent $53.3 billion on legal, illegal, and medical marijuana in 2016, according to a Jan. 17, 2017, release from Arcview Research Group. That’s more than people in the United States spent on McDonald’s and Starbucks combined.

Since Maine voters legalized marijuana, real estate brokers in the state are seeing an increased demand for industrial space, according to a Jan. 16, 2017, article in the Portland Press Herald. Maine’s industrial real estate market had been improving in recent years, and the need for marijuana business space has given the sector a new boost.

California’s marijuana crop is its biggest agricultural commodity, outpacing the next five top commodities combined, according to a Dec. 29, 2016, article in the Orange County Register. Marijuana’s estimated value to California was $23.3 billion in 2015, the Register reported, basing its estimate on the number of seized plants.

A new study released in JAMA Pediatrics reveals younger teenagers in Washington state have a decreased perception of marijuana’s harmfulness and an increased likelihood of use, mirroring national trends. “Across the country there has been a decreased perception of risk and an increase in marijuana use among adolescents,” Magdalena Cerda, lead author of the study, said.

Viridian Capital Advisors recently reported the global cannabis industry has raised more than $1 billion in 2016, according to Forbes. Most of the $1 billion-plus in capital investments was raised in the United States and Canada, with other countries contributing small amounts, Scott Greiper of Viridian said.

A bill in the California legislature could prohibit marijuana advertising on state highway billboards. Part of Proposition 64 prohibited marijuana advertising on billboards lining highways that cross the state’s borders. If passed, the new bill would make marijuana billboards illegal on state highways, too.

Andrew Freedman, Colorado’s director of marijuana coordination, could become a regulator for Massachusetts’ newly legalized adult-use marijuana industry, according to the Boston Globe. In Colorado, Freedman works with state government, law enforcement, the marijuana industry, and public health officials.

Despite marijuana legalization in some states, new data from an ongoing survey reveals fewer 8th graders know how to find pot easily. In 2016, the Monitoring the Future survey revealed, 34.6 percent of 8th graders self-reported they could easily access weed, down 2.4 percent from the previous year.

Phil Jackson, president of the New York Knicks, talked about marijuana use and the NBA during a visit to the CBS Sports Network program “We Need to Talk.” Jackson started by talking about his own marijuana use following the back surgery that kept him out of the 1969-1970 season when he was on the New York Knicks team.

Tennessee Titans linebacker Derrick Morgan is the only active NFL player calling on the league to investigate the merits of cannabidiol, or CBD oil, according to a report at CBSNews.com. Morgan has not used CBD oil, a non-psychoactive chemical from marijuana, because he does not want to risk violating NFL rules on substance abuse.

New data from the Colorado Department of Revenue reveals a record-breaking September 2016 for sales at marijuana shops, according to The Cannabist. With $127.8 million in combined sales of recreational and medical marijuana, September sales were up $33.1 million, from $94.7 million, during the same month in 2015.

An audit of the U.S. Postal Service calls for new policies to secure marijuana found in the mail. The audit, finished in October 2016, was based upon visits to seven USPS facilities earlier in the year. It found packages containing marijuana in places like an unlocked cage, an unlocked office and on an unguarded table.

In California, the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors has passed an emergency ban on commercial growth of marijuana for recreational use, according to a Nov. 15, 2016, article at KSBW.com. The ban is a response to California’s Nov. 8, 2016, passage of Proposition 64, which legalized adult-use marijuana in the state.

A new study suggests marijuana use could contribute to a sudden temporary weakness of the heart muscle, according to CNN.com. The type of heart muscle weakness studied, called stress cardiomyopathy, often appears in people going through stress and grief following a break-up or the death of a loved one.

A Fox 2 Detroit news anchor has announced she will retire from the television station to work with a pro-marijuana group in Michigan. Anqunette Jamison Sarfoh, a 22-year veteran of broadcast journalism, is slated to be introduced as a new leader in MILegalize at a fundraiser in Ann Arbor, Mich., on Nov. 2, 2016.

Laboratory tests on marijuana strains in Colorado have revealed THC levels much higher than the national average. The average THC content in confiscated cannabis samples was 9.6 percent in 2013, according to the NIH National Institute on Drug Abuse. But lab tests of Colorado pot show THC levels as high as 32 percent.

In Arizona, marijuana advocates expect legalization to decrease smuggling and damage drug cartels, according to CBSNews.com. Arizonans will vote in November 2016 on Proposition 205, which could legalize recreational marijuana, which supporters say will expose drug cartels to business competition.

A new report from the Pew Research Center reveals marijuana legalization is gaining support among Americans. Overall, 57 percent of American adults support legalizing pot, while 37 percent do not, according to Pew’s Fact Tank blog. Support for marijuana legalization is at 71 percent among Millennials.

Some California marijuana growers are opposing Proposition 64, the November 2016 ballot measure that if approved by voters would legalize recreational pot in the state. Some of the opposing growers are concerned about overburdens from regulation while others fear big-business competition, according to an Oct. 4, 2016, article at Reuters.com.

A new bully prevention program in Colorado public schools will be funded by a surplus of marijuana tax revenues, according to a Sept. 27, 2016, article from 7News, the ABC affiliate in Denver. The surplus is $66 million, thanks to Proposition BB, a provision that allows the state to keep extra marijuana tax revenue.

In 2015, U.S. arrests for simple possession of marijuana dropped to their lowest level in 19 years, according to the Washington Post’s Wonkblog. New data from the FBI showed a 7 percent slip between 2014 and 2015, when 574,641 were arrested for simple possession. The 2015 figure sits at the end of a 25 percent slide from 2007.

Travel guru Rick Steves of PBS fame will make a four-day tour of Massachusetts in support of the state’s ballot question on legalizing marijuana. If affirmed by Massachusetts voters this November, Question 4 will allow, among other things, adults 21 years of age and older to “possess and cultivate marijuana in limited amounts,” as described by supporters.

Nashville, Tenn., has passed an ordinance that allows police officers leeway in charging people with possession of marijuana. The city’s new decriminalization legislation allows officers to give a penalty of either a $50 fine or 10 hours of community service to people in possession of half an ounce or less of marijuana.

Although Nebraska’s pro-decriminalization forces decided not to pursue a 2016 ballot initiative, Lancaster County’s public defender has publicly endorsed decriminalizing and regulating marijuana, according to an article in the Lincoln Journal Star. Joe Nigro stated his views in a Sept. 15, 2016, forum with Nebraska’s chapter of the National Association of Social Workers.

Dude’s Brews in Aurora, Colo., is planning to distribute a cannabis-based beer, according to a Sept. 15, 2016, article at Westword.com. The beer, named General Washington’s Secret Stash IPA, was recently approved by the federal government’s Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau.

A reasonable person could expect weight gain among pot smokers who devour snacks after bong hits, but those extra pounds might not appear after all. New research reveals a correlation between daily marijuana use and lower body mass index, according to an abstract recently posted by the National Institutes for Health.

Marijuana confiscations by Idaho State Police have increased 1,000 percent during the past four years, thanks in part to legalization in neighboring Washington State, according to a report by KTVB.com. “We see it all the time and there’s no question that we are having to change the way that we train, the way that we do our job,” Capt. Bill Gardiner said.

An Arizona opiate maker has given the largest donation to a group working to keep marijuana illegal in the state, according to an article at Tuscon.com. Drug manufacturer Insys Therapeutics made a $500,000 donation to Arizonans for Responsible Drug Policy, according to information from the Arizona Secretary of State’s office.

A new marijuana decriminalization ordinance will go into effect on Sept. 7, 2016, in the township of State College, Penn., home of Penn State. The new ordinance will allow police to issue a summary offense to those possessing or using 30 grams or less of marijuana. Fines would be $250 for possession and $350 for using.

Aphria Inc., a Canadian producer, supplier, and seller of medical cannabis, has entered into an agreement with DiNiro Farms Inc. to buy 11 acres adjacent to its facilities in Leamington, Ontario, according to a press release. The 11 acres, which include 345,000 square feet of greenhouse space, will be purchased for $2.1 million in cash.

MJINews was started to aggregate, report and opine on various ways to make money in the legal marijuana industry. While medical marijuana has been legal in many states for years, its legalization for recreational use in Colorado and Washington in 2014 has catapulted the entire subject to new heights.
Read more about us..